Lithium recovery from phosphate minerals
AssigneeLI-Technology Pty Ltd.
InventorsGary Donald Johnson, Mark Daniel Urbani, Nicholas John Vines
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Abstract
A process for the recovery of lithium from minerals rich in lithium and phosphate, the process comprising passing an ore containing one or more minerals rich in lithium and phosphate to an acid leach step thereby producing a pregnant leach solution, subjecting the pregnant leach solution to a series of process steps by which one or more impurity elements are removed, and recovering lithium as a lithium containing salt product, wherein the series of process steps by which one or more impurity elements are removed includes a low pH impurity removal step conducted at an elevated temperature for the precipitation of one or more impurities.
Claims20
A process for the recovery of lithium from minerals rich in lithium and phosphate, the process characterised by comprising
- passing an ore containing one or more minerals rich in lithium and phosphate to an acid leach step thereby producing a pregnant leach solution,
- subjecting the pregnant leach solution to a series of process steps by which one or more impurity elements are removed, and
- recovering lithium as a lithium containing salt product,
- wherein the series of process steps by which one or more impurity elements are removed includes a low pH impurity removal step conducted at a pH ranging from 2 to 3 and at an elevated temperature of greater than 90° C. for the precipitation of one or more impurities,
- wherein the one or more impurities including alunite, and
- wherein a base is added to the low pH impurity removal step.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.